A Burnt Soul
by Bookdancer
Summary: What if Joe never flirted with that girl in 'Dead on Target? What if he went with Iola, the couple holding hands instead of one of them storming away from the other? What would happen then? Two-Shot. Joe/Iola
1. Chapter 1

** Basically my version of the beginning of Dead on Target. What I believe Joe _should_ have done, and how it affects what happens in the garage. Sorry, a lot of you will probably want to kill me for what I do, but I couldn't help it. Plus, I have always hated how Joe flirts with _every_,_single_ girl (Joe's my favorite Hardy Boy), so I thought that, for once, he would actually remember his girlfriend and not flirt. You all know where I'm going with this, right? One-Shot. I do not own The Hardy Boys.**

A Burnt Soul

Frank spotted Iola making her way towards Joe, her boyfriend and his younger brother. He hurried after them, afraid that Joe had begun to flirt with another girl, and that he would pay the price, again. To his relief and amazement, his brother was not flirting with anyone, and was listening while Iola explained the problem of having no more leaflets for the rally, except for the ones in the car.

Joe nodded, and immediately headed for the garage, car keys in one hand, Iola's hand in his other. Frank frowned, for some reason, he felt like something was going to happen, something bad. He followed behind the couple, far enough back that they didn't see him.

Frank was rounding the corner when he heard his brother's shout of "Race you there!", and watched as Joe and Iola ran to the car, Joe slowly but surely getting into the lead.

Soon, Joe had reached the car, and quickly unlocked it, pulled it open, and...

An explosion ripped through the air. Iola screamed as it tossed her to the ground like a rag doll, three yards away from the car. Frank watched in horror as *flames shot fifty feet into the air, dropping chunks of wreckage- wreckage that just a moment earlier had been their yellow sedan.**

Joe felt his body being ripped apart, pain searing its way through his limbs, and a bloodcurdling scream*** ripped through his lips, now open wide. His last thoughts were "Please, God, save Iola, let her live."

**Okay, I'm unsure of whether or not to keep going, so, if you all plead enough, I may make this into a Two-Shot.**

***-** Franklin W. Dixon's words, not mine.**

***** Always wanted to use those words!**

**Oh, and please review! Even if this is a One-Shot, I would like to know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

A Burnt Soul

**Alright, so I decided to keep this going, even though I only got a total of 'quickly checks', four reviews in the month it's been up. Well, it would be five, but MythicalGirl17 accidentally reviewed twice, with the same exact words. So I was wondering, was it just because nearly no one liked it, very few people who read the Hardy Boys review, or people just decided to be lazy the day they read this? But, to:**

**bhar, cosabella, Narnia's Princess [cool name, by the way :) ], and MythicalGirl17- Thank you so much. You were the only people who bothered to review, and all of you asked me to continue. So this is for you.**

**cosabella- I am really sorry, but I had already decided on the Joe lives or dies matter. However, as you are one of the people who this chapter is for, I will change my decision. Joe Hardy rules!**

**I do not own The Hardy Boys (even if I do own a grand total of 44 Hardy Boys books), Franklin W. Dixon does. Here we go:**

It was two months after the explosion that had taken one thing from the Hardys. That thing was their car. However, at the same time, it also gave them many things. Those things included Joe and Iola's lives, the laughter that had just erupted from Frank's mouth, their belief that miracles really can happen, and a lot more.

Because everything had been alright. Frank had dove into the burning inferno and rescued Joe, escaping with only minor burns and a bit of coughing. Iola hadn't been harmed at all except for the bruises that came with being tossed three yards onto hard concrete. Joe had been the worst.

For the first three days, the doctors and everyone had been convinced that he wouldn't live. But, like he always did, he proved them wrong. He had been in the hospital with burns covering a lot of his body, most of them being on his right arm. He had broken his ankle when slamming into the ground, and dislocated his shoulder (which had given him the impression that he was being ripped apart). But it had been determined that he would live after three days had passed and he woke up.

The Hardys were extremely thankful. Especially today, when their seventeen year old son was coming home. He had been in the hospital for two full months, and just gotten discharged exactly thirteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds ago- Frank was keeping track - and he was one minute away from being home.

* * *

><p>Joe sighed as he walked up the stairs to his house- on crutches - and waited for his mom to unlock the door and, as soon as it was open, he barged inside. Joe had been told that Frank, Iola, Chet, and Biff were waiting for him inside.<p>

As soon as he was inside, he was grabbed and led to the back yard, where he found that a lot more people than those he had been told about were here. He quickly spotted all four Mortons, the Hoopers, Tony, Phil, Callie, Frank, and many more.

A large banner the color of Joe's eyes hung from two trees, reading 'Welcome home, Joe!' in green. The silence was then interrupted by several cries of, you guessed it, "Welcome home, Joe!" Said boy could help but grin. Even if he was still in constant pain, as he refused the pain killers, he was definitely happy to be home.

The rest of the day passed without incident, unless you counted the punch bowl being uprooted and splashed all over Callie's pants in a certain spot that made it look as if... yeah, I think you get my meaning.* But all she had to do was go inside, change, and then ignore the teasing for the rest of the party.

And it was officially official, Joe Hardy was home, and he wasn't going anywhere soon.

*** Alright, for all of you out there who don't get why I did this, it's because I couldn't help myself, and Callie's my least favorite Hardy Boys character. And she does mean stuff to Joe, so why shouldn't I do mean stuff to her? Yes, for all of you wondering, I do know that that is a childish excuse, but oh well. I am what I am, right?**

**And please remember to REVIEW! All you have to do is press that little button right down there.'points downwards'**


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